“We are confident that 22feet’s ability to combine design and technology to deliver real business value to the client will resonate with Tribal DDB’s global philosophy,” says Patrick Rona, president of APAC at Tribal DDB Worldwide.

MUMBAI: DDB Mudra has bought out independent digital agency 22feet, bringing the Bangalore-based independent entity into the Omnicom Group. ET had reported that a deal was in the works on December 27, 2013.

22feet will be merged with DDB Mudra’s existing digital unit Tribal Worldwide India. “We are confident that 22feet’s ability to combine design and technology to deliver real business value to the client will resonate with Tribal DDB’s global philosophy,” says Patrick Rona, president of APAC at Tribal DDB Worldwide.

The new entity, to be named 22feet Tribal Worldwide, has Vineet Gupta as MD, Brijesh Jacob as joint MD and Deepak Nair as the COO. The fourth founding partner of 22feet, Vinod Moolacherry, takes independent charge of White Canvas, the Bengaluru-based full-service agency set up by the four of them.

Venkat Mallik, president of Tribal India and RAPP will have a new role dedicated to RAPP India, the marketing and CRM agency. “Tribal Worldwide’s focus on building a strong tech team across regions is a proof that they walk the talk. These factors will allow 22feet a seamless transition into becoming a part of a network,” the founders say.

Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and MD of DDB Mudra Group adds, “22feet will be allowed to sustain its prevailing culture. They will continue to operate out of their existing office, for instance, with new resources and team members. We don’t believe in imposing cultures but embracing the one that has worked well for them.”

With key clients including Fastrack, Café Coffee Day, Lenovo and Kingfisher, the merged entity will continue to operate out of Bangalore, with a 150-strong workforce. No layoffs are anticipated, say sources, and there are plans to hire more technical talent in Mumbai.

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